Display-rack.



R. G. ONEIL. DISPLAY RACK. APPLIOATIONI'ILED APR. 15, 1910.

Patented July 19, 1910.

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a I I R. C. ONEIL.

DISPLAY RACK. APPLIOATION FILED APR. 15, 1910.

Patented July 19, 1910.

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RAYMOND C. ONEIL, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

DISPLAY-RACK.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 19, 1919.

Application filed April 15, 1910. Serial No. 555,706.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND C. ONEIL, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display- Racks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to devices for exhibiting articles of merchandise or for exposing articles generally in a manner to attract public notice and render their inspection convenient, and it has for its object to provide a device of this nature which will commend itself as an item of store furniture, particularly to induce the sale of postal cards and other small objects.

The improvements are directed in part toward producing a light, but strong, display rack having a maximum capacity and yet of such a nature as to occupy little or no space that would ordinarily be available for other purposes.

A further object of the invention is to reduce the cost of manufacture of such devices and provide a structure that will allow the shipment of the rack in a knock-down condition without imposing upon the pur chaser a long and diflicult task by way of setting up and assembling.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of a postal card display rack constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the folding brace that holds the parts in rigid relation; Fig. 4: is a perspective view of a portion of the splicerod that I prefer to employ for connecting the adj oining edges of the plates or sections, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section of the joint made by the same.

The general shape of the rack as I prefer to design it is that of a geometric prism having a plurality of plane sides or faces, in the present instance ten in number and constituting a decohedron. It is in the nature of a hollow frame and the faces are formed by and the frame constituted of a plurality of sections 1, 2, 3, 4c, 6, 7 which are preferably sheet metal plates of a thickness sufficient to support on the various faces the articles to be displayed and give a reasonable degree of stiffness to the structure. The rack being, in the presentinstance, adapted for postal cards, as before mentioned, there are struck from the plates to project from the various faces of the rack a multitude of card holding side and bottom brackets 8 forming pockets, each of which is adapted to contain a pack or pile of the cards with the outer one exposed to view.

The oppositely disposed plates 1 and 4 are, in the present structure, flat and present supporting faces somewhat broader than the rest so that two vertical rows of oblong cards may be disposed thereon with the cards in their vertical position, while the other faces are fitted to display a single vertical row of cards in their horizontal positions. The intermediate plates 2, 3 and 6, 7 are bent angularly along a central line indicated by 9 so that each offers two faces instead of one.

The adjacent edges of the plates are formed and fitted in such manner as to be detachably connected together and to this end they are provided on their inner sides, with reference to the frame the plates constitute, with backwardly turned flanges 10 and in assembling there is threaded over the abutting flanges of each plate a splice rod 11 in the nature of a flattened split tube, clearly indi cated in Figs. 4t and 5. The tube is pressed in place by a longitudinal sliding movement, the flanges 10 entering through the split side thereof and hooking against the interior in such a way that the plates are prevented from parting from each other. By this arrangement the connecting device is con cealed from the exterior of the rack, the abutting edges of the plate being seen to meet along a straight line and thus a neat and attractive joint is produced. When thus connected, the plates are rigidly held in proper relation by a folding brace, illustrated in Fig. 3, one of which is provided preferably at both top and bottom of the frame. The brace comprises in the present instance a plurality of brace rods or bars 12 pivotally connected by a member 13 at their centers to fold in the manner shown in Fig. 3, while their opposite ends are upset or turned over to form connecting flanges 14c.

lVith the units thereof properly spread the brace is arranged to span the end of the frame and each rod is suitably, though preferably removably, attached at each end by means of the flanges 14: to one of the plates, preferably at a central point thereon. In the present instance I employ screws 15 as the attaching means, being entered through openings in the plate and threaded into the flanges let. The rods therefore meet the flat plates 1 and 4 at right angles, but meet the plates 2, 3 and 6, 7 at points between the faces thereof, though in each case it is a central point and with such a connection at the center, and the splice rods between the plates at the edges, a very rigidstructure is produced.

The pivot member 13 of the folding brace is extended in the shape of a loop 16 and to this loop I connect a supporting chain or member 17 so that the rack may be hung in a suspended position and properly balanced with the strain well distributed throughout the sections, all of which are directly connected, as described.

For storage and shipping purposes the rack is capable of assuming a knock-down position in which the side plates are disposed in a superposed relation, the splice rods 11 are bundled together to lie longitudinally of the same, and the brace members are folded. To assemble the rack the plates or sections are simply placed on edge and grouped about a center and in so doing the flat plates 1 and 2, being easily identified, are preferably placed opposite to each other firstand the shorter brace rod, which connects them, is screwed in place, though loosely and afterward the longer rods are loosely screwed to the intermediate bent sections. The splice rods 11 are then threaded down upon the flanges 10, the screws 9 tightened and the rack is complete. Friction and the spring of the tube 11 are suflicient to hold these splice rods in place no positive locking means other than this being necessary. The rack can be afterward taken apart again, if required, but in either assembling or taking down it will be observed that almost no mechanical skill is required.

What I claim is:

1. A display rack comprising a hollow frame having outer faces adapted to sup port the articles to be displayed, said faces being formed by a plurality of plates linked together at their adjacent edges and held in rigid relation to constitute the frame by a plurality of bracing and supporting mem bers spanning the latter and connected directly to the plates at substantially central points removed from their points of connection with each other.

2. In a display rack, the combination with a frame having outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed, said faces being formed by a plurality of plates, of a plurality of slidably removable splice rods detachably connecting the adjacent edges of said plates arranged on the interior of the frame.

3. In a display rack, the combination with a hollow frame having outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed, said faces being formed by a plurality of plates, of a plurality of slidably removable splice rods detachably connecting the adjacent edges of said plates, and a plurality of removable bracing and supporting members spanning the frame and connected with the plates at point-s removed from the splicing rods to hold them in rigid relation.

4. In a display rack, the combination with a frame, having outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed, said faces being formed by a plurality of plates having backwardly turned flanges on their adjacent edges, of a plurality of splice rods arranged on the interior of the frame for connecting the plates, each consisting of a split tube threaded over said flanges in such manner that both flanges enter the split portion of the tube and hook against the interior thereof.

5. In a display rack, the combination with a hollow frame, having outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed, said j faces being formed by a plurality of plates having backwardly turned flanges on their adjacent edges arranged on the inner side of the frame, of a plurality of splice rods for connecting the plates, each consisting of a split tube threaded endwise over said flanges and arranged on the interior of the frame.

6. In a display rack, the combination with a prismatic hollow frame having a plurality of outer faces adapted to hold the articles to be displayed, said frame being constituted by a plurality of plates connected together at their adjacent edges, two of which plates are flat and oppositely arranged to form each a single face, while the intermediate plates are bent angularly so that each forms two faces of the frame, of a plurality of braces spanning the frame, one of which is connected at each end at a central point on one of the single-face plates, while the others extend transversely thereof and are connected to the double face plates at the inter section of their faces.

7. In a display rack, the combination with a hollow frame having a plurality of outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed, said faces being formed by a plurality of plates, of a plurality of devices for attaching together the adjacent edges of the plates and a folding brace for maintaining the plates in rigid relation comprising a plurality of brace rods movably connected together at intermediate points and spread to span the frame with the opposite ends of each rod connected respectively to opposite p ates.

8. In a display rack, the combination with a hollow frame having a plurality of outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed, said faces being formed by a plurality of plates, of means for connecting together the adjacent edges of the plates and a brace rod independent of said connecting means spanning the frame and detachably connected at its two ends at substantially central points on oppositely arranged plates, respectively.

9. In a display rack, the combination with a hollow frame having a plurality of outer faces adapted to support the articles to be displayed said faces being formed by a plurality of plates, of a plurality of devices for attaohmg together the adjacent edges of the plates and a folding brace for maintaining the plates in rigid relation comprising a plurality of brace rods pivoted together at intermediate points and spread to span the frame with the opposite ends of each rod connected respectively to opposite plates, the pivot of the rods being extended to form an attaching portion for a support by which the frame is sus ended.

RAYMOL D C. ONEIL.

Witnesses:

RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH, LUCY A. VAN Oonnr. 

